The clock is only beginning to tick away Flickerstick’s 15 minutes of fame. Thrust into the spotlight on VH1’s rock-reality series “Bands on the Run,” Flickerstick is finally ready for fame with the major-label release of “Welcoming Home the Astronauts” on Epic Records on Tuesday.

“There was a period there where as cool and flattering as it was, it was like too fast,” says lead singer Brandin Lea en route to an opening gig for Live in Arkansas. “We totally got the bends really quickly. Now it’s like right on.”

Flickerstick inked a deal with Epic in August, but it wasn’t a given the Dallas five would sign with a major label.

“I had a lot of reservations about signing to a major label, but Epic’s totally changed my thoughts on a lot of the major label process,” Lea says. “We had so much behind us before we signed that it’s not like we had to give up and compromise a lot of what we’re used to.”

Becoming a priority was a major factor in Flickerstick finally signing on the dotted line with Epic. Epic obliged, prioritizing the band alongside labelmates Incubus and Tenacious D.

“They say all the bands are going to be a priority of course, but we’re like, `Yeah, but how do we know?’ ” Lea says. “Putting out the album in six weeks and listing everything we asked for in our contract was the only way that we could get them to prove that we were going to be a priority and that they were going to heavily promote and push our project.

“Our A&R [Artists and Repertoire] from Epic was just like, `I believe in the band. I’m going to make sure you guys get what you want and in return we just ask that you all are willing to bust your ass and do the things that are required to help the success of this album,’ ” Lea adds.

“Welcoming” was originally independently released a year ago. Tom Lord Alge, who has worked with alternative rock’s reigning champions Weezer and pop-punk kingpins Blink-182, was recruited to remix the album. But don’t expect drastic changes.

“It sounds a little bit more like we do live,” Lea says. “The guitars are a little higher and the drums are a little bit meatier, but as far as the songs and the writing, nothing’s changed.”

“Smile,” the band’s first video, and “Execution By X-mas Lights,” a 3-year-old demo, were added to the revamped disc while “Right Way To Fly” was subtracted.

” `Right Way To Fly’ was really supposed to be this really psychedelic type of thing and it didn’t really happen that way,” Lea says. “I didn’t want any songs on the album that I didn’t feel were going to stand on their own.”

Epic has begun pushing radio stations across the country to add the first single, “Beautiful,” to playlists and is also negotiating with MTV and VH1 for video airplay. Don’t count on Flickerstick being a one-album, flash-in-the-pan either. The band’s contract guarantees at least one follow-up album.

“Even if this album were to flop – which they totally don’t expect it to – we’re still going to do at least one more, which is hard these days,” Lea says. “Hell, a lot of times a guaranteed follow-up isn’t even in the contract anymore.”

The second album may include the refurbished “Right Way To Fly” and a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You.”

“Surprisingly our A&R thought it’d be a great idea,” says Lea of the cover. “I’d love to put it on an album.”

For now, album No. 1 and Flickerstick’s 6-month-old headlining tour are the group’s top priorities. The band hasn’t given up its notorious rock lifestyle, though.

“People who have seen the TV shows say, `Hey, you guys party a lot,'” Lea says. “We’re not selling computers. That’s just the way we are.”

Burgeoning rock stardom is always paralleled with pitfalls, but Lea is confident Flickerstick can avoid becoming just another rock cliche.

“None of us want to be that stupid band that couldn’t hold it together because of our excess and our impulses,” Lea says. “At the same time, we all kind of come from the bands back in the ’60s, ’70s and even ’80s that were kind of prone to that as well ,like the Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd.”

by Justin Kendall

Iowa State Daily

The pressure is on Flickerstick. The band has starred in a reality series, signed with a major label and released its first album, but can it live up to the hype? The locals weigh in with their opinions.

“I’m unsure of what their longevity is,” says Bobby Hacker, program director of 105.1 Channel Q. “I’m just afraid Flickerstick might be the next Hootie and the Blowfish.”

Alternative music’s current direction forced Channel Q to shy away from adding Flickerstick to its playlist of nu-metalists Godsmack, Linkin Park and Staind.

“Unfortunately alternative music has become very heavy and a lot harder in the last couple of years,” Hacker says. “So Flickerstick’s probably not the best fit for what we play.”

The abundance of new music also increases the competition for airtime and decreases the chances of Flickerstick being added.

“You’ve got new STP, you’ve got new Bush, you’ve got new this, you’ve got new that,” he says. “It’s tough to squeeze everybody on the air.”

As for requests, the station did receive a couple at the end of the “Bands on the Run” competition.

Since local radio isn’t an option, record stores are.

Peeples Music, 303 Welch Ave., stocks the independent release of “Welcoming Home the Astronauts.”

Manager Charlie Stewart says the store has sold a few copies, but demand hasn’t been overwhelming. As for Stewart’s prognosis of Flickerstick’s success, he’s only heard the album twice and believes it would be unfair to judge.

Maintenance Shop director Squire Boone isn’t shy about assessing Flickerstick’s chances for rock stardom.

“Their popularity is mostly a big fluke,” he says. “The only reason they’re popular is because they got the press coverage.”

Boone admits that he’s a bitter Soulcracker loyalist, Flickerstick’s arch nemesis on “Bands.”

So is Nic Thompson, Iowa State alum and Far Cry bassist, but he’s willing to give credit where it’s due.

“Musically they probably have what it takes to make it,” Thompson says. “But I think there’s too much turmoil in the band and I don’t think they’ll every really make it.